What festivals were there in the Tang Dynasty?

Festivals in the Tang Dynasty are generally celebrated or commemorated, which are mainly divided into birthdays and festivals.

Christmas is just a birthday. Before Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were few activities to celebrate birthdays. Sui Wen and Tang Zong were pregnant with their parents' fertility on their birthdays and didn't celebrate their birthdays. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty celebrated his birthday on August 5th, the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan, and formally established a birthday festival-Qian Qiu Festival, also known as Tianchang Festival (this is called Japanese school). On Christmas Day, the whole country has a holiday for one to three days, where banquets are held to celebrate, the world is pardoned, poems are given for fun, and gifts are given to officials. Congratulations have been expressed from all over the country. On his birthday, he also broadened the scope of Buddhism and Taoism, suspended the slaughter, and sentenced the monarch to sin to show the emperor's kindness. Buddhism and Taoism prevailed in the Tang Dynasty, and Buddha's birthday and Laozi's birthday were also regarded as festivals. April 8th is the official birthday of Buddha, and February15th is the official birthday of Lao Tzu. There is a national festival to celebrate.

Festivals: Festivals in the Tang Dynasty generally include official regulations and traditional folk festivals, as follows:

1, New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the first day of every year, that is, the first day of the first month, also known as January Day, Zhengri, Jacky and so on. This is what the Tang people value very much. In the Tang Dynasty, New Year's Eve and the morning of New Year's Day went hand in hand, forming the custom of "observing the age", that is, from New Year's Eve to the dawn of New Year's Day, people were happy and stayed up all night. At this time, thousands of families get together, have a big banquet, sing and dance at the same time, burn paper money, worship ancestors, and set off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits. At that time, setting off firecrackers was to burn dried bamboo on the fire to make it brittle, so it was also called blasting rod. The first day of the first month is the beginning of a year. This is the day when the Japanese emperor sat in his seat in the morning to receive congratulations from the court. Courtiers and officials, dressed in formal dresses, entered the court to congratulate the emperor. Foreign officials should pay tribute to them. People also attach great importance to New Year's Day. On the first day of the first month, we set off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits, followed the customs of the Han Dynasty, gathered for drinking and celebrated, held a wedding banquet, and used the symbol of peach to ward off evil spirits.

2. Man days

On the seventh day of the first month, Tang Ting often holds a banquet to enjoy the snow on People's Day and presents colored silk for them to write poems for entertainment. People's Day, when the Tang Dynasty flourished, cut the ribbon, such as flowers, trees, chickens and so on. , lifelike. If people's festivals coincide with the beginning of spring, cut two colors. Tang people are also used to climbing mountains and traveling on this day.

3. Shangyuan

The fifteenth day of the first month, the fifteenth day of July and the fifteenth day of October in the Tang Dynasty are three yuan. Slaughtering, fishing and hunting are prohibited every three yuan.

Shangyuan (later called Lantern Festival) also has its own characteristics. Because the night of Shangyuan is mainly about watching lanterns, it is also called Lantern Festival. In the Tang Dynasty, the gate of Sunset Square was closed and pedestrians were forbidden to enter. Don't close the door for three nights before and after the fifteenth day of the first month, you can go out and light the lights. On the night of Shangyuan, Chang 'an, the capital, was the most wonderful. All kinds of colorful lanterns compete with each other, and the people watching the lanterns come out of the city and are surrounded by each other. The scene is warm. In order to promote its peace and prosperity, Xuanzong changed the Shangyuan Festival to three nights, starting from the fourteenth night of the first month and lasting for three nights. On the Lantern Festival, a lot of singing and dancing activities were held, among which singing was the most popular. People flocked, holding hands, stepping on the ground for the festival, singing and dancing, and the lively atmosphere was intoxicating. Tang people said: "The new moon is round, especially when looking at the lights." Besides Beijing, other big cities also have celebrations in Hangzhou, Shazhou, Jiangling and Xiangyang.

On the last Yuan Festival, musical plays were staged during the day, and exquisite sacrifices were prepared to pray for a bumper harvest in the coming year.

4. Neutralization

The Zhonghe Festival is on February 1st, and an old story in Wulin said that "February 1st is called Zhonghe Festival, which is the heaviest festival in the Tang Dynasty". Tang Dezong Zhenyuan wrote in the fifth year: "From now on, it is advisable to take February 1st as the Zhonghe Festival, instead of the gloomy day of the first month, and prepare the third order as the festival number. There are internal and external departments to give a day off. "

On the Zhonghe Festival, hundreds of officials in Beijing presented agricultural books and farmers presented grain seeds. Not a day goes by without slaughter. The emperor and his courtiers held a banquet, where they played broken music and nine pieces of music, as well as special neutralization music and dance. I didn't leave until very late. The central government ordered officials at all levels to hold banquets to celebrate.

5. Social Day

Social Day, from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, there are sacrifices. Usually, the fifth day after beginning of spring and beginning of autumn is the Spring Festival and the Autumn Festival. In the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan, it was ordered: "It is always a routine for all state capitals in the world to put libation in spring and autumn, stop offering sacrifices and use only old wine."

6, cold food, Qingming

From winter to the next day 105 is the Cold Food Festival. Fire is forbidden for three days, and only cold food can be eaten, so it is also called "Cold Food Festival". Two days after the Cold Food Festival is Qingming. Because of the close relationship between the front and the back, people in the Tang Dynasty often spend two festivals together. People in the Tang Dynasty paid great attention to cold food. Six Canon of Tang Dynasty ◎ Fake Ningling Mausoleum ◎ contains: "Cold food has passed Qingming (vacation) for four days".

In addition to cold food during festivals, it has also become a custom to visit graves. When you come back from sweeping the grave, you should wear a willow hairpin and say, "If you don't wear a willow in Qingming, a beauty will become a head." Cold food to sweep the grave is not fun. Tomb-Sweeping Day's cold food is very popular with various cultural and sports activities, such as cockfighting, dog fighting, acrobatics and so on. Tang people often go out for picnics and fly kites.

7. Shangsi Festival

March 3 is one of the three festivals in the Tang Dynasty, and the government allocates funds for officials to enjoy rewards. As usual, the emperor gave a banquet in Qujiang Pavilion to promote peace. In addition to trimming hair, people mainly go for a spring outing and have "outing" activities. "Wool washing" means that people come to the pond in Zhu Jiang during festivals to wash dirt with spring water, so as to drive away diseases, evil spirits and monsters, and have fun in the water. Going for an outing means that people come to the suburbs together to look for spring flowers, entertain friends, or confide in each other, or sing songs and enjoy the beautiful spring scenery of nature. On March 3rd, Chang 'an people came to show trees, which made the whole city boiling and very lively. Du Fu's "Two Poems on the Road" said: "On March 3rd, it was sunny and sunny, and there were many beautiful people by the Chang 'an River."

8. Dragon Boat Festival

In the Tang Dynasty, the fifth day of every month can be called Dragon Boat Festival. But the Dragon Boat Festival is the festival, and the fifth day of May is the most recorded. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Duanyang Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Chongwu Festival. During the festival, people not only eat zongzi, drink realgar wine, tie colored silk, hang sachets, but also hold dragon boat races and play with herbs. Dragon boat races are especially popular in southern water towns. In the competition, tens of thousands of boats were in full swing, the waves were churning, the boats were struggling to paddle, and the audience shouted in unison, shaking the world and being wonderful and enthusiastic. A hundred schools of thought contend is a competition to see who has many kinds of flowers and plants. Dragon Boat Festival is the official festival of the Tang Dynasty, and the court held a banquet in accordance with the usual practice and gave a lot of rewards.

9.tanabata

July 7th in Gregorian calendar is Valentine's Day in China, which is the legendary day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet at the Magpie Bridge. On the night of Qixi, people decorate sacrifices such as wax flowers, melons and fruits, and wine, flicking the strings and praying for heaven. "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" contains: "Old fruits and rice to worship cows and girls." "Move the Qing business code, feast for Dan, and the home of the literati is effective." The woman asked the Weaver Girl for help, hoping to have a pair of skillful hands like the Weaver Girl. Lin Jie, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem: "See Bixiao on Tanabata tonight and cross the bridge hand in hand with the Weaver Girl. Every family watches the autumn moon and wears tens of thousands of HongLing. "

10, Zhongyuan

Various religions prevailed in the Tang Dynasty, and both secular people and Buddhists celebrated the 15th of July. Taoism believes that on July 15, local officials refused to judge the good and evil in the world. The temple often starts the Magnolia Law on July 15. Sacrifice a hundred things to the three treasures. Monks and laymen often gather in temples during festivals, which is both a kind of sacrifice and a kind of entertainment.

1 1, Mid-Autumn Festival

On August 15, when Sanqiu is halfway, it is called Mid-Autumn Festival, which is the brightest moonlight at night and season, and the climate is very good. Therefore, Tang people like to enjoy the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, especially literati. Bai Juyi has a poem saying, "Autumn moon is bright, how about inviting people to enjoy the moon?" There are also feasts and orchestral music when enjoying the moon, which is full of interest and elegant style. According to legend, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty enjoyed the moon in the palace on Mid-Autumn Festival night, and the fairy Luo was the guide, inviting Emperor Xuanzong to the upper reaches of the moon palace. "Look at hundreds of fairies, all practicing undressing and dancing in the light pavilion." The emperor of the Tang Dynasty recited fairy dance music and returned to the world. According to the tone, it is written as "colorful feathers". Mid-Autumn Festival is a folk festival, not as grand as an official festival.

Chongyang 12

On September 9th, the Tang Dynasty was designated as an official holiday. The government rewards officials for choosing their own tourist routes for public holidays. On the Double Ninth Festival, it is an ancient custom to climb mountains and insert dogwood to ward off evil spirits. People not only hold climbing activities, drink chrysanthemum wine and wear dogwood bags, but also give poetry interest and sustenance. Climbing high is the main activity of the Double Ninth Festival. Climbing high is climbing high, mainly climbing mountains, as well as climbing cities, platforms, towers and buildings. People often use this to express their feelings and ambitions, and the content is healthy and elegant. In late autumn, chrysanthemums are released alone and are deeply loved by the Tang people. It can be said that "the city is full of golden flowers." When people in the Tang Dynasty were in Chongyang, they often invited friends to enjoy chrysanthemums and buy wine to make poems, which made them feel happy. When people go out to climb mountains, the custom of "holding chrysanthemums" is called a long-standing custom. And inserting dogwood is another custom. "If you know where your brother is climbing, there will be one less person in the dogwood."

13, New Year's Eve

The last day of the year is New Year's Eve. In the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist temples in Dunhuang often celebrated New Year's Day. New Year's Eve symbolizes that the year is coming to an end and the new year is coming. In the Tang Dynasty, Nuo ceremonies were still held every winter. There is still such a tradition in the classification of "Zhuzhou County Nuo" in Literature General Examination.

In the Tang Dynasty, both the imperial court and the people attached great importance to saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and the emperor hosted banquets for ministers. On New Year's Eve, when you open or close the door, or light candles, you stay up all night, and the whole family, old and young, get together to celebrate the New Year, sing wine and prepare for the New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve passed and the New Year began. Last night and this morning, last year and this year were separated, and it has been like this.